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Talking public art, enough to make one cry

Some years ago, in the wake of the "Blue Shirt" debacle, I hosted several discussions on the future of public art in Milwaukee. At one, in my living room, attended by about 15 people, Mike Brenner announced that he had just taken over as chair of the City's public arts subcommittee. He was motivated and excited to -- at long last -- finally get things done. »Read Full Blog Post

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You said:"...Milwaukee will never get art at that level by gathering arts supporters in a room and talking about listservs, web sites and how to answer RFQs. "

Truer words have never been said.

However I think more than a city art czar with "political finesse and expertise" is lacking in this city. I'll suggest that the art community itself is too unsophisticated, too willing to accept mediocrity, maybe even too naive. I also think the schools and galleries and MAM share in this mess as well.

We are a city of art cliques, wannabes, dilettantes, enthusiasts, PR mongers, opportunists, exploiters... All part of a vibrant art scene to be sure (don't get me wrong) but not sufficient to build the support needed for serious art.

After watching the meeting, it seemed there was a glaring omission to the discussion on Public Art; the art. Communication and internet tools, navigating bureaucracy, community involvement, various public perceptions and interaction, understanding all of the various programs etc., are all important facets, but what about the forest through the trees? Burke's assessment of success for the County program she chairs is dramatically missing the most important criteria of all. Success isn't placing the work; success is the quality of the placement, and quality of the art itself.

This should have been required reading by all. http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=22077

Disregard it's 4 years old, it seems by the continuing placement of mediocrity that the message of Bamberger's piece has not been understood. Successful public art "programs" don't just have fluid communication between stakeholders, generous funding, the appropriate distribution of "tweets", etc.. Successful public art has first and foremost great art.

Todd F.'s last two paragraphs are absolutely true, in my opinion. If being an artist had zero sex appeal, the art would be a whole lot better.

From my super brief time (3 months) in MIAD way back in 1995, having the money to be there seemed to easily trump talent. And MAM offers gimmicky one-night theme shows to the local artists - a nice gesture I suppose, kind of like giving a panhandler a high five. But of course it just encourages more gimmicky embarrassment.

And as far as galleries go, we've seen a few of the cliquey-PR monger-exploiter varieties ... but I hesitate to pick on "galleries" as a group. They have it an AWFUL lot harder than the other two.

Sorry if this went a little off topic from the public art discussion. But I get the feeling that whether the art is public or private, knowing the right people in our little pond trumps doing serious work.

I will rewrite a letter that was not posted and hope to make some sense of last nights events. It was enough to make one cry and make this man want to scream. As an outsider looking into my home "city" (?), I wonder if it is yet to grow up. I wonder if the "powers that be", as well as the general public, have the sense, the maturity or the ability for some sense of self sacrifice to see art as a whole and the beauty it brings in addition to the financial influx. We must see this or we should all wear gray and build gray boxes. There is a lack of dissemination of information in a timely manner by all, to all. The lack of interest by all parties concerning each issue as a whole and this is the public. We/you are the public and we need to get together as a whole to forge a path to a maturity that is only deserving of the renaissance that the city of Milwaukee has experienced. I worked in the arts in Milwaukee for years and I left because it was what I saw last night. I had hoped it had changed and it boils down to pie and not enough to go around and who is deciding the flavor and what kind of crust and it's all crusty because there is no filling. Add another organization/baker, ask for more money because we ain't got no pie. It's time for a new recipe, because if you keep using the same recipe, you're going to get the same pie. It's time to bring in the best bakers/citizens from all aspects of baking/life to communicate and bake the pie. Oh and, grow up or be a small town, wear gray and be blacklisted for your inadequacies. Is this harsh? Perhaps, but I was there last night and left dumbfounded and confused and left with the realization that it is the same old, same old and now we have less money. blah blah blah

i heard the last time there was a talk about art in WI/milwaukee ("the state of the art" forum @ haggerty) the same things were said. I get the feeling things are about to change because there has been more and more activity and talk going on about the art scene, and we now know some problems and see there are more participants in the scene but not sure why it hasn't changed yet.

One thought: educate the public about art. Good point one lady made that artists expect others to see the value or importance of art. how can we do this? Why not start with high schools? Make sure high school art students know about Gallery Night and feel invited.

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